As Beautiful as Diamond, Yet Softer Than Velvet
by Vingle
Summary: When Palkia's jealousy gets the better of him, it causes him to lose his closest friend: Dialga. Centuries later, he finds her wounded and on the verge of death. Will she be able to forgive him? Cosmoshipping::PalkiaxDialga


This was written for my friend beleg-cuthalion-strongbow's birthday. This is also my first one-shot, so tell me if there is anything I can improve on. Sorry for not updating The Heart of a Dragon; I've gotten really lazy over the summer. But at least I'm not dead yet! :P

I do not own Pokémon, or any of its characters.

Hope you enjoy this!

_~Vingle

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**As Beautiful as Diamond, Yet Softer Than Velvet **

**By: Vingle**

"Tell me, Mew, am I a likeable person?" Palkia asked the question self-consciously. They were both sitting on a beach enjoying the sunlight.

The pink feline mulled over the question for several moments. "You're a good guy once people get to know you, but you're a jerk at times." He took a handful of sand and slowly sprinkled it onto the ground.

"Oh." Said the keeper of space. He looked slightly dejected at the pink feline's response.

"Don't worry about that. You'll get better when you're older. Want some candy?" offered Mew. He held out a giant pink lollipop to Palkia.

"Thanks." He said as he took the aforementioned treat and started to lick it.

"Wanna go swimming?" Asked Mew.

"Yea, sure."

* * *

Palkia executed a full back flip before landing into the water. Mew swam about randomly.

"Hey Mew!" Called Palkia as he sent a powerful tidal wave at the pink cat. It knocked him into the air where he flew for about thirty seconds.

Mew floated above the water for a few moments, apparently concentrating on something. He waved to something below the water.

"Hiya Wailord!" Called out Mew as he levitated several of the said pokémon. They were **very** large, even by their standards. Mew then dropped the whales onto Palkia from above.

"AUUUGH!" Palkia barely had time to scream before the float whales landed on him.

There was an explosion of water where the impact occurred. The Wailords swam away as if nothing happened.

"Got you there, didn't I?" Said Mew with a laugh.

Palkia erupted into a coughing fit. He did not look amused.

"You could have killed me like that!"

"Your still alive!"

Palkia growled and launched a Dragon Breath at Mew, who laughed and flew away. "Catch me if you can!"

Mew narrowly avoided being caught in Palkia's claws after he teleported in front of him. "Too slow!" He yelled.

Palkia noticed Giratina looking down at him from a ledge on the shore. His face was expressionless, but Palkia was sure he was laughing on the inside.

_I'll show him that I'm not going to be outsmarted by Mew, of all legendaries. _

A Hydro Pump knocked Mew into the wall of a canyon. Palkia appeared in front of him at the same time. He zipped off at the last moment.

Palkia muttered some profanities about cats before taking off after Mew at breakneck speed.

Mew rounded a corner, which Palkia followed, only to crash into a blur of blue and gray.

He found himself looking into the crimson eyes of Dialga. They were filled with surprise and shock.

He hastily got up and helped her up. She shook her head after she got up.

"Sorry about that. I didn't see you there." He apologized hastily.

"It's okay." She answered. "I was looking for you anyway."

It was Palkia's turn to be surprised. "You were?" She nodded.

"Do you want to go do something? I'm sure Giratina can come with us." She said looking at him hopefully.

Jealousy and spite flared up inside Palkia as he remembered Dialga's obvious affection towards Giratina and how she cried when he went missing.

"Why don't you just do it with Giratina?" He said with spite in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need me!"

"It's not the same without you!"

"You cared for me, did you? You always preferred that ghost of a dragon!"

Dialga looked shocked. "That's not true." She whispered.

"Not true? You practically begged for Giratina to come back when he went missing! I was there for you, but you didn't need me! Well, I don't need you either!"

His retort was met with a Roar of Time that flung him against the wall behind him.

"You will be hard-pressed to live in this world if you deny those close to you." Said Dialga coldly.

Palkia groaned and looked up. She was gone. He realized what just happened and covered his face with his hands.

Mew had been watching the whole time. He might have been overly hyper and random at times, but he wasn't stupid. Knowing that if either of the dragons would have killed him had they found out that he was there, he hid in a nearby tree and observed the scene in front of him.

He flew from the tree and laid a comforting paw on Palkia's shoulder. The space deity ignored him.

He was already regretting his actions. He had been selfish and unfeeling. As Mew had put it, he had been a jerk.

And in an instant, he had lost his closest friend.

And he could only watch her slip away from him.

* * *

_1, 000 years later_

Palkia was horrified. He had never seen the world this damaged before. Many sections had exploded; others had disappeared completely. Dead pokémon lay everywhere. He had woken up two days ago by a tremor. What he saw was unsettling.

He had met up with Giratina an hour earlier. The dragon of death told him about the near-total destruction of the Distortion World. Since the two worlds were linked, they could not exist without each other. If damage was done to the pokémon world, the Distortion World would take damage; judging by what he saw right now, it went the other way around.

What was worse, however, was that innocent pokémon were being **infected**. They were corrupted and turned against the keepers of the world. The humans had fled for safer areas. The pokémon now attacked with shadow-like moves; he was sure it was not Giratina or Darkrai's doing. It pained him that they had to kill those who were infected; it was kill or be killed. You could easily get overwhelmed. They resembled undead, but their behavior was far different; they traveled in groups and co-coordinated their attacks. That made them far more dangerous than what others believed. Some legendaries found that out too late; their efforts to negotiate with the dark pokémon were met with death and violence.

What pained him more however, was Dialga. She had not spoken to him for centuries; maybe even a millennium. He still regretted what he had said to her that caused their friendship to shatter. During those years, he looked back to when they were still friends. He realized how much she cared for their friendship. And with that realization, he had grown to love her. He bitterly accepted the chance that she hated him was more than likely.

There was one more thing that Giratina told him: he knew a way of repairing the damage caused by the cataclysmic destruction of the Distortion World. Giratina asked him to tell no one; he would use the method in an attempt to save all life in the world, even though he had been banished to the other world.

"Even though I have been sentenced to exile, I cannot sit still while the world is being consumed. I will attempt to avert this disaster; even if it is the cost of my own life. Tell the others that I am sorry for breaking my sentence and that I hope the world will be a better place for them. Goodbye, Palkia. May Arceus be with you." Said the embodiment of death. He then left for an unknown location.

He felt the urge to see Dialga, to make sure she was safe. He launched himself off from the ground and cautiously flew through the air. Many flying pokémon were affected, so traveling was dangerous. It was hard to walk into the open with a swarm of Skarmory tearing at you.

Fortunately, Arceus taught all the remaining legendaries how to maintain Protect for an extended period of time, so as to keep them from getting killed. The ones who were too far away hid underground, but even then, it was only a matter of time before the entire world was obliterated.

Several Pelipper spotted him and launched several shadow balls at Palkia, only to be stopped by the protective barrier surrounding the keeper of space. He responded by blasting them all with Hydro Pump. He quickly fled from the group, as it was preferable to flee from the infected rather than fight and possibly lose your life. Both Groudon and Kyogre died because they had been overwhelmed while fighting. Their deaths brought great sadness to all the legendaries though there was no time to mourn in such a dire situation.

Palkia noticed a mountain being ripped out of the ground and left floating in the sky. He gritted his teeth in frustration at his inability to do anything about the destruction of his world.

_Giratina, I really hope that your plan works. If it doesn't, then we are doomed. _

Palkia sensed that Dialga's presence nearby. He flew above a hill to see her fighting waves of pokémon along with Darkrai and Mew. The bodies of many pokémon lay around the trio, the result of their struggle.

Darkrai raised his arms and fired Dark Void at a cluster of Donphan charging towards him. They stood perfectly still for a moment before falling lifelessly to the ground. Palkia guessed that he use Dream Eater on them while they were asleep. He slashed at nearby pokémon with his claws.

Mew was faring slightly worse. Due to his size and lack of brute strength, he was having a hard time knocking those close to him away. He was reduced to levitating a large rock and bashing pokémon with it. Several Tangrowths wrapped their vines around him and slammed him into the ground, only to be burned away by Darkrai's Will O Wisp. Suddenly, a Houndoom jumped on him and prepared to sink his fangs into the pink feline's neck. Two Snorlax kept him immobilized.

"RUN, MEW!" Yelled Darkrai. Mew instantly complied, disappearing with a flash of light.

Dialga fired several Flash Cannons at nearby Tyranitar before launching an Aura Sphere at one of the Snorlax, knocking it back a few hundred meters. A Feraligatr attempted to bite her neck but was severed in half by a Dragon Claw.

Palkia flew towards them as fast as he could, wanting to help them, but suddenly, a horrible pain in his head caused him to become disoriented and he crashed onto the ground. Darkrai and Dialga were also affected similarly. Darkrai froze for an instant. In that split second, a Hyper Beam and Leaf Storm to the head rendered him unconscious. He collapsed on the ground and was still.

Dialga staggered. She flinched from the unexpected pain. The moment her defense faltered, they attacked. She disappeared under the writhing mass of pokémon. A scream of pain rang throughout the area.

Time froze for Palkia when he heard her cry.

_Dialga…_

He slowly got up, ignoring the pain in his head. A Tyranitar attempted to claw him from behind but he intercepted the blow easily. He then punched through the Armor pokémon's chest and watched it fall. He felt uncontrollable rage build up inside of him. Only one thought was in his mind: save Dialga.

He collected energy in his hand and then made a slashing motion with his arm, sending a huge crescent of energy at the dark pokémon.

Explosions appeared everywhere as the blade of energy tore the fabric of space in that area. He made sure that it didn't hit Darkrai or Dialga.

He teleported to Dialga, unwilling to waste precious time running or flying. Her labored breathing came in gasps.

Darkrai appeared to be fine. Dialga, however, was not so lucky. She lay on her side; her body was covered in scratches and cuts. There was a long laceration on her side; it bled profusely. There was a trickle of blood running out of her mouth. Her crimson eyes were glazed with pain.

He kneeled at her side and placed his hand on her head.

"Dialga."

At the sound of his voice, her pain-filled eyes slowly turned to meet his.

"…P-Palkia…I…I'm…" Was all she managed to come out with before she started shaking uncontrollably.

"Dialga…are you there?"

Her eyes slowly closed. Her shaking started to subside.

"No! Dialga! Dialga! ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" He roared with tears coming out of his eyes.

"I'm not letting you go."

He opened a portal to the Hall of Origin and gently picked Dialga up, despite her bulk. He mentally teleported Darkrai to the hall before stepping through the portal.

"Hi Pal-Oh my gosh…what happened?" Said Celebi as she greeted Palkia.

"I'll explain later; just help her!" He said frantically.

"You'll have to bring me to my lake; it's much easier for me to heal someone there. And what about Darkrai?" She explained.

"He's fine." Muttered Palkia as he grabbed Celebi and teleported. He motioned impatiently for Celebi to start working.

"Just set her down by the lake. I'll try my best to save her. You should wait with Mew behind those trees."

"But-"

"Listen to me, Palkia. You don't want to cause her further pain; that's just cruel. I'm afraid your devotion might drive you to hurt her if you try to help her yourself." She said. "She was my friend as well."

Palkia hesitated. "Fine. Where is Mew?"

The aforementioned legendary flew out of the water and shook himself dry. He took Palkia by the arm and led him to the trees.

"If she dies, what will we do?" Asked Mew.

"Arceus will create another guardian of time to take over." Growled Palkia bitterly.

"Let's not worry about that; she might survive." Said Mew.

"...I never apologized to her. I never should have said that."

Mew had no words of comfort. Palkia tore up a tree in frustration. If Dialga died, he would curse himself for breaking their friendship.

_2 hours later_

Mew's ears suddenly perked up. He tapped Palkia's pearl.

"Celebi said we can come."

Palkia flew off instantly, leaving behind many uprooted trees. Mew shook his head at the destruction of the forest.

Dialga's body lay peacefully on the grass. Her wounds had been healed, but she made no movement.

"I've done all I can. It's up to her now." Said an exhausted Celebi. Her normally lively blue eyes were defeated and tired.

He slowly approached the unmoving form of Dialga and placed a hand on her side.

"Dialga…please don't die. I need you…"

No answer.

"Please…"

Still no answer.

"You can't die…YOU CAN'T! PLEASE!" He roared at the top of his voice. Tears started to spill out of his eyes.

He started sobbing. He finally understood the pain that Dialga felt when Giratina went missing.

After a few minutes, he was able to speak coherently.

"Dialga." He finally whispered. "I love you."

He closed his eyes and stood, as he couldn't bear to look at her anymore. He was about to walk away when he heard the faintest whisper from a voice he thought he would never hear again.

"…Palkia?"

Palkia froze. He whipped around in surprise. He threw his arms around her neck in a comforting hug.

"I'm here. I'm here."

"You saved me." She said.

"I had to."

"But why?"

"Because I love you."

"…"

"Dialga?"

"I love you too." She said with a shy smile. Palkia had never felt happier.

He slowly drew her into a kiss. He felt like he would be able to stay like that forever, with her soft lips pressing against his. After what felt like a millennium, they separated.

"Can you forgive me for what I said to you all those centuries ago?" He asked.

"Oh, Palkia. I forgave you long ago; I was just too scared to tell you. I was afraid of being hurt."

"I could never stay mad at you for long."

Palkia looked to his side. Celebi had tears of joy rolling down her cheeks while Mew was practically bawling. The pink feline then latched onto the guardian of the forest, who was surprised but returned the hug.

Palkia thought that Dialga looked more beautiful than ever. Her eyes had a softness in them that made him smile like never before.

_You're as beautiful as diamond, yet softer than velvet._

He looked up at the cloudy sky with newfound optimism.

_Things may look dark right now. _

A ray of sunlight shone through the clouds. The sky was starting to clear. He noticed that the aura of death and sickness had disappeared. He thought about Giratina's plan. Maybe it had worked after all. Perhaps the dragon of death had done more for the world than he thought. He nuzzled Dialga on the cheek.

_But as long as I have you, I'll keep going.

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Happy Birthday, Beleg-cu! Hope you liked this! If you have any suggestions and/or criticism, don't be afraid to speak up!

Keep Reading!

_GL HF GG,_

_~Vingle_


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